Guns or missiles?

E

Enforcer

Spaceman
Which do you tend to use to score the most kills?

Taking out a target with just guns can be a lot more satisfying than using a missile.

Sometimes I use a missile after I've softened up my target with guns, usually if I get tired of fooling with it. Especially the heavy fighters. You shoot, shoot and shoot some more at a Sorthak or a Vortak and it seems to take forever before you can tell if you've even scratched the paint. Then at close range, let loose with a FF missile-he can't escape!

But, I never rely on my missiles-I expect to run out of them before I run out of targets.But I try not to waste them.

Howabout you?
 
Using guns is more fun and satisfying because they require skill to be used effectivley. Missles dont , unless they are a dumbfire , in which case they are probably even more satisfying if you hit your intended target.
 
As quite a few people have said, gun kills are a lot more satisfying. It is also a lot more efficient, as gun energy is a renewable resource. I save missiles for emergancies, and get 95 percent of my kills with guns.

Best, Raptor
 
Guns are the primary weapons for a fighter for a reason. Very often you don't carry enough missiles to finish all enemies with them.
So guns get my most kills too (and, of course, just more fun :))
 
I'll agree that guns are the better weapon, since you don't tend to have a limited supply of them, but missiles can be much more effective if your trained in their use. I easily get more kills with my guns, but if you know how to use those missiles, they can take out either the harder fighters faster, or they can take out weak fighters in just one blow. You do that and then you can hop targets and use the guns. (Then, of course, you get to boast later about how much higher you are on the killboard than all those other amateur pilots. :) )
 
Originally posted by Skyfire
(...) or they can take out weak fighters in just one blow. (...)
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That's what I did in WCP. Fired my IRs at Stingrays/Lempreys/Skates so I was sure they got hit (since they have no decoys) and could concentrate on harder enmies. I always saved the FFS for close-combat though.
 
I play WC I most of the time, and I like using Mass drivers. I personally love staying right behind a Jalthi and blasting him with just my guns! :D Although, It does get annoying when my wing man is after the same target and starts blasting me along with! that's the only part that sucks. Although, a dralthi kill with lasers is a heluva lot of fun.
 
LIke everyone else that's replied so far I use guns for the majority of my kills too. I usually fire off a missile or two at the begining of a big battle to tie up a few fighters so I have a couple extra seconds to manuver (sp?) into position. I also like to save a few missiles for that last nav point in case I feel like getting back to the carrier quickly.
 
I use full guns to destroy light targets, missiles+guns (in that order) to finish heavy targets, but the high amount of missiles in WCP (compared to others WCgames) makes me use the missiles more than ever
 
I tend to use guns whereever practical. I guess the main reason is simply tradition - in WC1 the missiles really weren't that effective (or maybe I just couldn't use them properly) and you didn't carry many. By the time you got to something with a descent missile loadout (e.g. the Raptor ... mmmmm Raptor) you had the gun firepower such that you didn't need them.

There are two times when I will usually opt for a missile -
When I'm in a light fighter on the tail of a heavy/bomber and have exhausted my gun energy and he still isn't dead. I'll finish off with a missile.
When I need a 'quick kill' or a distraction and am using my guns for something else. Usually this relates to trying to protect someone, e.g. taking out a bunch of bombers, or fighters that are tailing a friendly bomber. Lob a missile at one target, and engage another one with my guns.
 
I only use missiles when necessary... you know, things like torpedoes, leech missiles, the kind of damage you can't do with guns.

Apart from that, the only cases in which I tend to use missiles are either when I'm outnumbered by good enemy ships (WC4 photograph-taking mission comes to mind... a single Hellcat against all those damn Vindicators :() or when I'm in a really slow ship (Devastator and Broadsword, mostly) unable to outmaneuver enemy fighters... not that much of a problem in the Broadsword, actually, since my turrets usually get the job done before I get the chance to turn around. :)

--Eder
 
Originally posted by Mekt-Hakkikt
Fired my IRs at Stingrays/Lampreys/Skates so I was sure they got hit (since they have no decoys) and could concentrate on harder enmies. I always saved the FFs for close-combat though.
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You sure you didn't get that the wrong way around? FFs are weaker than IRs, I always wasted them on Stingrays etc.

Missiles in WC1 were useless, they were far too slow for fighters, and were only good on capships.

Missiles were faster in WC2, but you'd have to make sure your target had dumped all its chaff pods already, and even then they would outrun the missile, so I seldom used them in WC2. Torps and the Mace are an exception, of course.

Similar to WC1, WC3 missiles I found were mostly useful only on capships. Since only the Longbow and Thunderbolt carried torpedoes, missiles certainly cut down the length of time spent blasting away at a capship. I think the same can be said for Privateer - civilian missiles were useless and so slow.

WC4 missiles were much more effective at cutting down targets, so I used the more often, but I still relied on guns mostly.

WCP/SO fighters carried several missiles, and given the swarming tactics of the Nephilim, they could be useful. FFs on decoy-less ships, IRs on Manta bombers and perhaps Devil Rays. Dumbfires and RPs were fun when they hit the target. :)
 
If you remember to shoot missiles while you're on the guy's tail, thewn you will know everything there is to know about missiles. If you're firing the missiles to kill, that is. And I ALWAYS fire them to kill. For me, anything else is a damn waste.

Of course, what do I know :)
 
In WCP I nail the easy targets mostly with guns but FF missiles are quite useful against heavy fighters. I use my guns onto them until there's no gun energy left, fire the FF and the Manta is history. Works not as good for the Devil Ray, IMREC is better to kill them when their shields are gone.
 
FoFs use to be really nice when you had a fast ship with a good missile loadout. You could enter a nav point with a whole slew of Cats and just drop em all. It use to soffen them up real good! :)
 
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